6 Best Email Marketing Services for Artists in 2023

6 Best Email Marketing Services for Artists in 2023

What are the best email marketing services for artists in 2023?

As we look to the future of marketing, email marketing will likely remain a staple in an artist’s marketing mix. If used correctly, it can prove one of the most effective digital marketing tools there is.

If you’re trying to figure out which email marketing service to use as an artist, here is a look at the best tools available and how they compare to each other.

The Best Email Marketing Services for Artists of 2023

  • ConvertKit: Best overall selection for artists.
  • Mailchimp: A good beginner tool, dubious for artists who’ve been at it for a while.
  • ActiveCampaign: An excellent solution for artists with established teams and business models.
  • GetResponse: Enduring email marketing service – quite possibly the best among old-guard tools.
  • Constant Contact: Classic email marketing still packs a punch and is forward-looking too.
  • AWeber: Old guard mail marketing service and a good all-rounder.

ConvertKit, Best of the Best Email Marketing Services for Artists

ConvertKit, best email marketing services

ConvertKit (affiliate link) was founded by Nathan Barry, an independent creator who wrote three books and two courses. Barry is well-acquainted with the ebbs and flows of being a creator and saw a gap to fill in the email marketing software for creators realm. Thus, ConvertKit.

Price

  • Free: $0 USD
  • Creator: Starting from $15 USD per month
  • Creator Pro: Starting from $25 USD per month

Standout Feature

Easy to understand. Effective list growing, email campaign templates, automation, and monetization tools.

Pros & Cons

+ All the features you need to grow and manage your email list and send campaigns out of the box

+ Flexible tag-based system for segmenting and managing your audiences

+ Useful, easy-to-understand analytics

+ Excellent automation functionality

+ Features to monetize your list

+ Solid deliverability

+ Free migration

– ConvertKit targets creatives and creators as customers, but the interface does not feel artistic or creative

In-Depth

I make no bones about it. ConvertKit (affiliate link) is our top recommended email marketing software for artists.

And this is not one of those generic recommendations (“Yeah, it’s pretty good, you should check it out”) you can find anywhere on the web. No, I’m speaking from personal experience.

I signed up for ConvertKit a couple of years ago and had every intention of moving my lists over from Mailchimp. I delayed and delayed until I couldn’t justify the cost of Mailchimp anymore.

Mailchimp doesn’t just charge based on the plan you’ve selected. Every little add-on (like automation), costs you extra. But I will get to that a little later.

And just so there’s no confusion – I am on a paid plan with ConvertKit right now.

Either way, I also thought it would take me a long time to figure out ConvertKit’s workflow. Initially, that was a point of hesitation.

And, sure, it took me some time to find my way around. But overall, ConvertKit could not have proven much easier to acclimate to. So, if you’re worried about moving yourself over from another email marketing service, you’ll be glad to know the process is straightforward (and that includes importing your existing lists).

I like ConvertKit’s email campaign templates. There are great-looking templates out of the box, and you can customize them to suit your needs. Additionally, sending plain text emails (the kind you see most marketers sending) with Mailchimp was impossible (I tried, and eventually gave up) – basically, it always formatted incorrectly. With ConvertKit? No problem!

I love ConvertKit’s automation tools. They make it easy for me to create custom sequences for my customers. I have many products, and the ability to tailor my communication to different customer segments is very important to me.

ConvertKit also has better landing pages and form tools for building your audience compared to some of the alternatives mentioned in this guide. Dare I say it – ConvertKit’s arsenal of tools almost makes list growth apps like Leadpages irrelevant.

Finally, ConvertKit knows its audience as well as the fact that monetizing their work is a priority. Although I don’t sell digital newsletter subscriptions or ask for donations via email myself, it’s nice to know it’s something you can do with ConvertKit.

For the price, ConvertKit is very competitive, and their email delivery rate is 99.73%. I find my campaigns get opened more since moving to ConvertKit.

Sign up for ConvertKit (affiliate link) now.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp, best email marketing services

Mailchimp initially built its reputation on being a free-to-use (up to a point), full-featured email marketing service. The company was founded in 2001, and upon its launch, it was revolutionary. Since then, Mailchimp has added an array of new features to enhance its marketing capabilities.

Price

  • Free: $0 USD
  • Essentials: Starting at $13 USD per month
  • Standard: Starting at $20 USD per month
  • Premium: Starting at $350 USD per month

Standout Feature

Mailchimp has grown from a simple email marketing service into a more comprehensive offline and online marketing tool.

Pros & Cons

+ Free to use up to 1,000 subscribers

+ Basic tools for growing and managing your email list, as well as sending email campaigns

 

– Difficult-to-use interface, poor navigation, bad menu labeling

– Not cost-effective long-term unless your email list is especially profitable

– List-based system makes segmentation, tagging, and managing your subscribers harder than it should be

In-Depth

Mailchimp is a reasonably good starting point for beginners, given that its off-the-shelf functionality will get you familiar with email marketing. Getting subscribers, managing them, and sending campaigns can all be done with relative ease using Mailchimp’s built-in tools.

But. Mailchimp seems to get worse with age. I don’t know why no one seems to want to broach this subject – maybe because they’re shilling Mailchimp – but I will.

First, its user interface has never been that great, and it only gets more complicated as they add more features. Monkeys evoke a sense of mischief and fun. Mailchimp evokes a sense of overwhelm, industrial complex capitalism, and frustration, especially with the puzzling navigation bar (arguably, that’s where the mischief is at work, right?).

With all the changes they’ve made through the years, I thought they might be able to nail the email equivalent of eating bananas and swinging from trees, but I haven’t seen it yet.

Mailchimp primarily uses a list-based system to manage contacts, and ironically, it’s much less flexible than email software utilizing a tag-based system. This makes segmenting your audience and sending different messages to different people at different times impossible without annoying, complex workarounds.

Delivering the right message to the right people at the right time is the essence of effective marketing! You don’t want this to be any more complicated than it already is, and Mailchimp doesn’t make it easy on you. So, by default, you lose out on opportunities to engage and monetize your audience.

The cost of Mailchimp can also add up much faster than their pricing scheme would seem to indicate, especially once you’ve exceeded over 1,000 subscribers. They charge for every add-on, and that includes automation – a basic feature every artist, creative, and independent entrepreneur will require (especially if you’ve got more than a few products), as their business grows!

You might think that if you’ve got 1,000 subscribers and you’re sending them weekly messages, you’d be making bank, but that’s not always the case. So, you end up dolling out $30+ USD per month for the privilege of sending messages to a subscriber base you worked your ass off to build. Yeah.

Mailchimp could still be a worthwhile solution during the early years of your development. Long-term, you will want to be able to do more sophisticated things with your email list, and when you get to that point, you will need an easier-to-use, more flexible tool to get the job done.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign, best email marketing services

ActiveCampaign was founded in 2003 in Chicago. They have over 180,000 customers, and they are well-known for their automated workflows, advanced features, integrations, and great customer support.

Price

  • Plus: $49 USD per month
  • Professional: $149 USD per month
  • Enterprise: Depends on the organization

Standout Feature

Automation is ActiveCampaign’s greatest strength.

Pros & Cons

+ Powerful automation, advanced features, and integration

+ In-depth reporting

+ Exceptional deliverability

+ Speedy and friendly customer support

+ Free migration

– Steeper entry-level price

– Horrible customer service

In-Depth

ActiveCampaign is generally considered a step up from free to low-cost email service software solutions and is the preferred choice for many independent entrepreneurs. That has a lot to do with its flexible and powerful feature set that extends well beyond conventional email marketing.

It is a very popular solution for independent entrepreneurs like me who use KLEQ to build their memberships, courses, forums, or online coaching platforms. I still settled on ConvertKit, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like ActiveCampaign.

We all have a specific tool stack, and if you’re looking for an email marketing service that integrates well with apps, eCommerce platforms, and other services, then it’s well worth considering integration as a key factor during the buying process. That’s a blanket statement that applies to all Software-as-as-a-Service (SaaS) purchases.

Either way, as you may have guessed already, ActiveCampaign’s greatest strength is marketing automation. In addition to autoresponders, list, and contact management can be automated too. If you choose to take advantage of their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) features, you can also use their “Deals” system to manage your contacts, appointments, direct messages, and more.

That is perhaps too much power for the independent creative, especially if she doesn’t have a marketing and sales team, but it’s nice to know ActiveCampaign can scale with her.

ActiveCampaign’s interface is also one of the easiest to understand. Most email marketing services could learn a thing or two from the way ActiveCampaign has set up their navigation.

ActiveCampaign is a great email marketing service overall, but it’s not recommended for those just getting started. Its cost is steeper than alternatives already covered, and that cost will only increase as your subscriber base grows.

GetResponse

GetResponse, best email marketing services

GetResponse was founded in 1997 in Poland. Besides email marketing, the company has expanded into website builders, marketing automation, and even eCommerce marketing. A forward-thinking company, GetResponse has recently added a ChatGPT-powered email and subject line generators into their feature set.

Price

  • Free: $0 USD
  • Email Marketing: starting at $13.30 USD per month
  • Marketing Automation: starting at $41.30 USD per month
  • eCommerce Marketing: Starting at $83.30 USD per month

Standout Feature

GetResponse comes with a built-in webinar feature, which, so far as I know, is unique to GetResponse.

Pros & Cons

+ Free-to-use plan available

+ Its Email Marketing plan is more affordable than many of its competitors

+ Comes with sophisticated marketing automation tools

+ Built-in webinar feature

+ Built-in “Chat” feature for your website

+ Comes with a landing page builder with A/B testing functionality

+ Customer support in an array of languages

– The drag-and-drop landing page builder is clunky

– Split testing is only available for subject lines and content

– The website builder is a little lackluster compared to competitor alternatives

– Paid-for webinars are only available on the priciest GetResponse plans

 

In-Depth

GetResponse has exceptional and in-depth autoresponder functionality assuming you are on one of its paid plans. They are probably the best in the business, at least in this regard. You can create time- or action-based messages based on opens, clicks, subscriptions, birthdays, changes to user data, and more.

Naturally, GetResponse also comes with sophisticated automation tools. For better or worse, though, you can only access its full range of capabilities if you’ve purchased the Marketing Automation plan. The marketing automation tool features a drag-and-drop editor to create sophisticated and customized user journeys – it’s probably the best of its kind.

GetResponse comes with nearly 200 responsive templates, most of which are modern, varied, and easy to edit. GetResponse lets you choose from several categories based on the intended goal of the campaign – celebrate, educate, promote, sell, etc. – which is a handy feature.

If anything is lacking here, it would be that you can’t set global styles for headings and text. That means if you want to change the style of a single paragraph, you end up having to change all paragraphs. On the upside, you can take advantage of a bevy of Google Fonts.

For those who were drawn in by the buzzword A.I., yes, you’ll be happy to know GetResponse comes with a few handy Artificial Intelligence features. And even though they are new, they are remarkably effective.

The A.I. subject line generator will provide you with five suggestions for your campaigns, and the email generator can create a campaign – text, layout, and design – based on the prompts you give it. You can also choose from six “voice tone” settings.

GetResponse also comes with competent analytics/reporting, split testing, landing page builder, webinar, conversion funnels, website builder, Chats, push notification tools, and more, depending on the plan you purchase. We’d be hard-pressed to cover them all here, but you can refer to the pros and cons section above for an overview.

GetResponse may well be the best among the old-school tools like AWeber and Constant Contact, also seen below.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact

Founded in 1995, Constant Contact is an “old guard” email marketing service. That means they’ve had plenty of time to earn the public’s trust. But that doesn’t mean they’ve fallen behind the times. They continue to evolve, and they’ve recently added A.I. tools to their repertoire too.

Price

  • Lite: Starting at $12 USD per month
  • Standard: Starting at $35 USD per month
  • Premium: Starting at $80 USD per month

Standout Feature

Constant Contact empowers you to stay in touch with your contacts using email, texting, and social media.

Pros & Cons

+ Good entry-level pricing

+ Easy to use

+ Brainless audience segmentation features

+ Stats displayed in the dashboard; more detailed stats available in the Reporting section

+ An array of attractive templates

+ Great automation features

– The best automation features are reserved for higher-priced plans

– Prices increase rapidly as your list size grows

– The user interface is a little buggy

– While there are plenty of templates, many are a little dated at this point

In-Depth

Constant Contact has managed to keep up with the times. Since they’ve been in existence for nearly three decades, their efforts to remain relevant are commendable.

One of the things users love most about Constant Contact is its easy-to-use interface. Setting up your first campaign is a breeze, and that goes for just about anything else you might set up using the service – newsletters, landing pages, social media posts, and more.

The interface is sort of a double-edged sword, though, in that it can be unresponsive at times, especially in embedding video content. While Constant Contact does have mobile apps, they are lacking the functionality users expect from them.

As I mentioned earlier, all growing creators and businesses need automation, and I’m happy to report this is one of Constant Contact’s strong suits. You can create audience segments yourself and organize your lists by location, tags, email activity, and more. If you don’t mind paying for the additional functionality, you can get Constant Contact to organize your audience into four categories – most engaged, somewhat engaged, least engaged, and everyone else.

Being around for longer has certain advantages, and Constant Contact has had time to add a ton of mobile-friendly email templates to its platform over the years. The placeholders offer some ideas on what to include in your campaigns. You can also have Constant Contact automatically create a custom template based on your website’s design.

Again, its strengths are sometimes its weaknesses too, and Constant Contact’s templates aren’t exactly fresh off the press. While you can customize the templates to an extent, the options are kind of limited.

Overall, though, Constant Contact is a solution that can scale with use, and it has the right goods to be worthwhile for those just getting started and more advanced marketers alike.

AWeber

AWeber

AWeber is another old-guard email marketing service. Founded in 1998, over a million entrepreneurs, small businesses, and non-profit organizations have used AWeber to communicate with their audiences and grow their ventures.

Price

  • Free: $0 USD
  • Lite: starting at $12.50 USD per month
  • Plus: starting at $20.00 USD per month
  • Unlimited: starting at $899 USD per month

Standout Feature

AWeber is a good all-rounder and doesn’t necessarily have any standout features. It comes with autoresponder functionality, reporting, list segmentation, a landing page builder, integration, basic eCommerce features, and more.

Pros & Cons

+ Free plan to get started

+ Reasonably priced plans

+ Easy to use

+ Solid selection of templates, newsletters, and landing pages

+ Build-in landing page builder

+ Excellent customer support

+ Basic eCommerce features

+ Decent integration features

– You pay for unsubscribed contacts sitting in your account

– You can’t use multiple segments when sending campaigns

– More affordable options exist

– No A/B testing functionality for landing pages

 

In-Depth

Not surprisingly, AWeber has a huge library of mobile-ready newsletter templates, with over 600 available (although some are merely variants on established themes). With the Free and Lite plans, however, you can only access a limited number of templates, so users beware. You need at least the Plus plan to be able to access all.

As with Constant Contact, some of AWeber’s templates look a little dated. In this case, quantity mostly makes up for quality. Plus, you can still create customized templates if you prefer, and there is a “Smart Designer” option, which will analyze your site’s formatting and attempt to duplicate it (with mixed results).

AWeber makes a rather bold claim, that they invented autoresponders in 1998. That may be true, but AWeber’s autoresponder feature set is about average. AWeber has multiple templates for autoresponder campaigns, though (like welcome sequences, lead magnet series, YouTube newsletter, and more), and these do come in very handy.

AWeber’s autoresponder functionality probably isn’t good enough for growing creators and businesses, however, as there’s no way to complete more advanced autoresponder tasks.

AWeber does come with “AWeber Campaigns,” the closest thing they have to marketing automation. But it can’t keep up with Mailchimp or GetResponse’s automation features.

AWeber’s strong suits also include split testing as it lets you create and send up to three variants of your campaign. It offers very competitive functionality when it comes to A/B testing too, with subject lines, different content, etc.

Additionally, AWeber has good reporting out of the box, though you cannot access some of the more advanced features unless you’ve purchased the Plus or Unlimited plan.

Constant Contact and AWeber share much in common in terms of features, which makes AWeber another capable all-rounder.

Best Email Marketing Services Honorable Mentions

  • Bandzoogle: Bandzoogle isn’t strictly an email marketing service and rather a website-building and hosting platform for musicians. That said, they do give you the ability to grow your list and send campaigns or newsletters from inside your account. If you ever need to export your list and take it elsewhere, Bandzoogle lets you do that too.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the best email marketing service for artists?

In our assessment, the best overall email marketing service for artists is ConvertKit. That said, the best service will still depend on the exact nature of your activity and business, as well as your needs and goals. Most platforms offer the features and functionality you need to get up and running, but it makes sense to home in on the right solution for you as your audience starts to grow and you’re paying for your contacts.

Why do I need email marketing software?

First, sending mass broadcasts to your list manually (e.g., using Gmail) is thoroughly impractical or in some cases, a violation of privacy and laws. Second, email marketing software makes the management of your contacts, growth of your list, and sending of campaigns and newsletters a much more manageable task, with reporting on every campaign sent (open rates, click-through rates, etc.).

What types of email marketing are there?

All email marketing is effectively the same, in that all types involve sending campaigns to your audience, or an audience segment. But some marketers do like to think of updates and sales messages as separate from newsletters. Automated “Thank you for your purchase” type messages may also be considered separate, and not “marketing” in the strictest sense.

Which email marketing service is the most affordable?

Mailchimp has long been touted to be the most affordable email marketing service, but ConvertKit is close on its heels, and can even prove more cost-effective over the long haul. Other services offering free plans are also worth checking out, like GetResponse or AWeber.

How can I make money with email marketing?

As with any type of marketing, making money is not a guarantee. But any time you’ve got a new musical release, book, wearable, piece of art, or otherwise, you can send your audience a campaign and include a link where they can go to purchase your offer.

Is it possible to market via email for free?

Yes. Most services offer a free plan or a free trial you can use to send email campaigns for free. Free plans are generally better than free trials, though, as you won’t have a time limit on managing or exporting your email list should you choose not to go with a specific service.

Is email marketing better than social media marketing?

As expert marketer Dan Kennedy says, the best thing you can do as a marketer is execute multiple strategies simultaneously with great urgency. We feel the same way. So, while email marketing is more personal and has better visibility, you can benefit from incorporating social media into your marketing mix, especially if you can use it to grow your email list.

Final Thoughts, Best Email Marketing Services

And that’s everything you need to know about email marketing services for artists. If you’re just getting started, your best bet is to take advantage of a provider like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, GetResponse, or AWeber, which have free plans. On the other hand, if you’re on a massive growth trajectory, you might want to look at ActiveCampaign or more comprehensive digital marketing solutions like Ontraport and HubSpot.

Good luck with your email marketing efforts, and let us know if we can help!

My 2023 Music Industry Predictions

My 2023 Music Industry Predictions

The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a great deal of uncertainty. Live performance and touring ground to a halt, leading many artists to consider throwing in the towel on their careers. If I had made any predictions for the music industry in 2020, I probably would have been wrong about most, because I could not have seen widespread lockdowns coming.

2023 is already shaping up to be an exciting year, though, and there has truly never been a better time to be an artist. But my predictions aren’t all positive. Here’s what I’m predicting for the music industry in 2023.

Doomsayers Will Scream Louder Than Ever

I covered this in yesterday’s article. Sad but true – this is nothing more than a marketing ploy to get you to empty your wallet.

Fear not – there will always be opportunities in the music industry. If someone like me can play over 300 shows in western Canada, be featured on The Antidote and CCM Magazine, and become an award-winning composer, imagine what someone who doesn’t spend the bulk of their day writing articles could do with their music.

This would be an excellent year to get your house in order, but don’t worry about the roller-coaster rises and dips that inevitably play out every single year. Focus instead on growing and bettering yourself, your craft, your fan base, and your brand.

Spotify Will Make Strides in Overtaking the Audio Space

Spotify is working hard to become the go-to destination for everything audio, be it music, podcasts, audiobooks, or otherwise (maybe even live streamed audio). And they are well positioned to do it.

I don’t think 2023 will be the year they completely overtake Apple and Amazon (if this happens at all). But I do think Spotify will be making some strides this year and will be broadening their stable of offerings.

It Will be a Rocky Year for TikTok

Most people in the business are making rosy predictions about TikTok, but truthfully, TikTok has a hard year ahead of them. Take for example this CBC News headline from last month:

U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to ban TikTok

Now, I don’t think TikTok is necessarily going anywhere. The more likely outcome for the year is that some company will purchase the rights to create TikTok North America or develop an entirely new substitute that isn’t China run. But we should not expect TikTok to remain in its current form for long.

Still, if you have yet to set up your own home on the web, you are in a position of compromise. Either create a SiteGround account, Bandzoogle account, or get some expert coaching around building your own artist website TODAY.

Web3 Adoption Will Continue to be Slow & Confusing

Just because we’re in 2023 does not make the confusing and difficult any less confusing and difficult than it was before.

Now, you and I know that Web3 isn’t all that bad, but the majority are not savvy to the extent we assume they are.

I have been sharing a great deal about Web3 based social networks and my ongoing experimentation for a couple of years now. But anything that isn’t push-button fast is at risk of alienating larger adoption, and Web3 just isn’t where it needs to be for it to be mass consumption ready.

Even all the “experts” just keeping saying, “oh, we don’t know – it will be exciting to watch and see what happens.” Thanks, expert. Pretty sure I could have figured that out myself.

I would still encourage artists familiarize themselves with the new ecosystem, though, because it is our future.

Live Music Will Recover & Grow Steadily

You might think this is a safe bet, but out of all the predictions I’ve made, this is the one I feel iffiest about.

COVID-19 set a precedent that the entire world can be locked down in a matter of weeks should there be any new public health safety concerns that drop in our lap.

Assuming there are no worldwide meltdowns, though, live music should continue to recover and grow. Artists and audiences alike will begin to feel more comfortable hosting and going to events.

Final Thoughts

Every year, enthusiastic predictions are made about A.I., virtual and augmented reality, and other emerging technologies. And the reality is, one year is a very short span of time. We’ll probably see some fresh developments in these areas, but not to the extent many think. It will be gradual at best.

I do think 2023 will be a year for great progress though!

What are your music industry predictions for 2023? Which trends only serve to annoy you? Do you think I’m out of my gourd with my predictions?

Update: December 9, 2022

Update: December 9, 2022

This has been a big week for David Andrew Wiebe (and, of course, I say that with all due humility… NOT!).

At long last, it’s coming to fruition, my plan to be in multiple places at the same time (how is it done?!).

Okay, that was maybe a little vague. So, before I go off on another shiny object tangent, here are some new places you WANT to find me this week.

Adrenalize Def Leppard Fan Podcast

As noted yesterday, episode zero of the Adrenalize Def Leppard Fan Podcast has launched! We also posted two audiograms on the new Adrenalize social media.

Episode zero is obviously an introductory one, and it’s there to set this project into motion.

Before anyone asks, yes, The New Music Industry Podcast will be back shortly… boy, it’s been a spotty year for that one, huh?

I’m also cooking up a new case study for Music Entrepreneur HQ.

Bandzoogle

Well, I’m actually over a week late in sharing this, but better late than never? Maybe? Nah… I guess it doesn’t count.

Nevertheless, my article on 5 best ways to promote your song is live on Bandzoogle, and it’s an exquisite read. Go down to the wine cellar and procure your finest wine, fine citizen, because you will savor and celebrate this piece as if it were the finest of complementary aged cheddars (or insert your favorite cheese here). Cheesy but delightful.

You can find this one on Hypebot as well.

Soundfly

Getting an article onto Soundfly has taken much longer than anticipated, but at long last, some recognition! What took you so long, guys? Seriously? I came up with this damn music entrepreneur thing and I’ve been talking about it since 2011 for crying out loud. Geez, you think people might give you credit for a damn thing around here…

My How to Write an Award-Winning Film Score article has been making its rounds in a variety of circles (links below), and it has finally infiltrated Soundfly / Flypaper as well. Muahahahaha… 😈 our plans for world domination valuable contribution are progressing smoothly.

Also see variations of the article on:

Music Entrepreneur News

Much thanks to Jared Moon and all contributing team members at Music Entrepreneur News for this piece:

The Renegade Musician Interview with David Andrew Wiebe

It’s been a blast talking about my new book… and it’s a guarantee that this won’t be the last you’ll have heard of it. There are plenty more interviews to come, and I’m excited to share about what is sure to be my most controversial book yet… please don’t cancel me, I’m only human.

And, given half a chance, I would ramble on about it endlessly right here on my blog. But the majestic overlords have put a cap on my word count, and I must abide by their laws, or I shall be struck down by an electrified limp pickle. It’s not as pleasant as it sounds.

Oh, but please do reach out to me for comment if you’re an attractive, lovely, intelligent, beautiful, strong, go-getter of a media person. And I have it that all media people are attractive, lovely, intelligent, beautiful, strong, go-getters. 😉

Later for now!

Do Musicians Still Need a WordPress Site?

Do Musicians Still Need a WordPress Site?

So, do musicians still need a WordPress site?

Having interacted with you rock gods for a while, I know some of you are going to give a knee-jerk response to this question before reading anything I etch into my blog.

But if there’s anything I could say to convince you to read even a little further, it would be this:

This is a more nuanced question than you might be inclined to believe. And understanding the ins and outs will better set you up for success. I wouldn’t recommend leaving your mind in a fishbowl.

So, if you’re ready, give me a chance to explain what I’m starting to see (and I’m not presenting this in “I’m your master” kind of way – I’m merely documenting my journey and my latest findings).

This Offer Expires Soon:

The Music Entrepreneur Code

Did you know you could get The Music Entrepreneur Code, along with two bonuses for just $5? Yeah, I know. But this offer is going away September 30. Seriously. So, claim your special offer while it lasts, okay?

First Things First – Your Central Repository

I had graphic designer Ross Barber on episode three of The New Music Industry Podcast.

I think he said it incredibly well:

You always need to be trying to send people back to where they can find everything, which is your website.

This would be the main reason to ensure you knock it out of the park with your central repository.

Yes, people are going to get lost and get stuck on your website, unable to find what they’re looking for. No matter how much time and effort you put into organizing, simplifying, and optimizing your website.

Some visitors are going to bounce off. Others are going to miss the super obvious call to action in your sidebar. Still others are going to nitpick the badly worded disclaimer in your footer.

Oh well… Who cares?

Your website is for your hardcore, “I’ve got to have it all” fans, and once they’ve stumbled upon it, they’ll have found their personal version of heaven.

Your website is for your hardcore, “I’ve got to have it all” fans, and once they’ve stumbled upon it, they’ll have found their personal version of heaven. Click To Tweet

They’ll read your extensive catalog of blog posts, listen to your podcasts, watch all your videos, and ultimately end up on your merch page buying your latest thing… because it’s shiny.

That’s who you’re building your website for. Don’t worry about the others – we’ll find a solution for them (more on this in a moment).

Even Russell Brunson, creator of ClickFunnels (the “website killer”) has a central repository for his content at Marketing Secrets. Gee, I wonder why?

Further, without naming names, noted music coaches and educators (who everyone goes gaga over), who relied heavily on ads for traffic are starting to publish more frequently. Yeah, they’re getting into content too.

Does it Have to be a WordPress Site?

No.

I’ve talked to the good folks at Bandzoogle. I had director of artist and industry outreach Dave Cool on my old podcast (DAWCast: Music Entrepreneurship), and even met him in person last year at DIY Musician Conference in Austin, TX.

Bandzoogle is great. It’s so simple to use.

I once set up a client website on Bandzoogle. Once she realized just how simple it was, she couldn’t have been more thrilled!

(It still took her a while to feel comfortable with it though).

If I were to offer any kind of support to anyone (not saying I will – certainly not for free), I could offer support for WordPress and Bandzoogle. I wouldn’t offer it for another platform.

I still feel a stronger sense of control with WordPress myself, but that doesn’t make Bandzoogle bad. Not at all.

What do You Recommend for Building a WordPress Site?

So, over the years, I’ve promoted different web hosting services and some of the ones I previously used got bought out and suddenly turned from solid to godawful.

I have a couple of recommendations, but for 80% of people, I would say SiteGround (affiliate link – hey, don’t look at me like that, I’m trying to be helpful) is the right option.

It’s fast, easy to use, and you can get WordPress up and running with the click of a mouse.

Yes, buying and setting up a domain as well as hosting can be kind of technical, but once it’s done, it’s done.

I don’t have space to cover the process in detail here, but I’m happy to put together a video tutorial if you’d like (let me know in the comments below!).

Is That All?

No.

So, earlier I mentioned that you should have a central repository for everything you.

But it’s unmistakable that websites are changing.

Like I said, your central space is for people who are warm to you. People who like you and want to check out everything you’ve got.

Many others are cold to you, and are basically going to get stuck, get lost, and bounce off your website. Sad but true.

But there is a way to capture them too.

WordPress is great. But the main issue is, to unlock its full potential, you’ve got to install plugins. And plugins don’t always play nicely with each other. They can even cost a pretty penny and be hard to use.

So, if you’re interested in setting up a fan club, membership, or sales funnel (and I would argue these are good things to set up in these weird times), you’re basically going to end up having to become a technical expert in the process.

You can use your central space to direct people to your offers (and you should), but your offers should perhaps live somewhere other than WordPress. Somewhere distraction free, where people get to learn about your story, your product, and not be presented with links to a million other options.

So, I’ll share a few solutions with you as well as their pros and cons.

10XPro

10XPro

So, right off the bat, I’ve got to tell you 10XPro (affiliate link) is my favorite option.

It’s got all the tools you’d possibly need to set up your membership site, course platform, fan club or otherwise.

It’s incredibly easy to use.

If you wanted to, you could even use 10XPro as your all-in-one platform. Yes, you can even use it for publishing. Most other solutions make that difficult or just don’t have the option.

And here’s a biggie:

It doesn’t just have a shiny coat of paint on the front end. You can create a great customer experience on the back end (or on the inside) too. That’s the biggest factor, so far as I’m concerned.

The catch? 10XPro is likely the costliest of solutions available. Considering what it offers, the cost is more than fair, though.

The key for most artists considering 10XPro will be getting to breakeven as quickly as possible, at which point it becomes self-sustaining.

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is great. It truly is. I got to see it all up and close earlier this summer when I took the One Funnel Away Challenge (affiliate link – this training is super intensive and highly recommended, especially at the price point).

The best thing about ClickFunnels is you can use it to build any type of funnel you want (although you can do that with 10XPro as well), and the templates they’ve got are all attractive and customizable.

What I don’t like is this:

The front end experience is awesome. It’s designed to sell. But the back end experience, for me, leaves something to be desired. Almost like it’s good for the seller, but not great for the customer, which is a red flag for me.

I may end up using ClickFunnels for some of my funnels, especially joint ventures. So, in no way am I saying don’t use it. But you should be aware of its strengths and weaknesses.

ClickFunnels is more affordable than some of the alternatives, which is an aspect that goes in its plus column.

Leadpages

Leadpages

Finally, we come to Leadpages (affiliate link).

I love Leadpages. It’s my secret weapon for building an email list!

In no way is it cheap, but the Standard and Pro plans are still more affordable than 10XPro or ClickFunnels.

Still, I think Leadpages works better as a plug-and-play list grower than it does as a website or selling platform.

Don’t get me wrong – you can use Leadpages to build your sales funnels, and it would even work quite well. As with 10XPro and ClickFunnels, you’d just need to connect Stripe, and you could start taking payments.

Customizability is where you’d probably struggle bit. Leadpages has lots of proven, high-converting templates already, so not like you’d need to go in and change everything.

But in my attempts to build my dream funnel and present everything the way I wanted it to look, I just couldn’t see Leadpages being my go-to solution.

I would suggest using Leadpages to grow your list, especially if you’re building WordPress to build your site.

You don’t need Leadpages if you’re building entirely on 10XPro or ClickFunnels though. They have list building features built-in, and they are awesome.

Others

They suck. I’m sorry, they just do.

I’ve looked at what else is out there, and there are cheaper solutions, but I just can’t recommend them.

The above tools all look and function similarly, with some differences. I find the ClickFunnels building platform to be the buggiest of all, but that’s just my experience.

Anyway, the moment you start paying less for your solution, you end up sacrificing your experience as a user, and your customer’s experience of your product as well. That reflects badly on you.

I’m an entrepreneur, so I like the idea of ownership and control. WordPress gives me that. 10XPro gives me that. To an extent, ClickFunnels gives me that. To a much lesser extent, Leadpages gives me that (but if they went away, there would be other tools I could replace it with).

Worst

Building your website on Blogger, Facebook, YouTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, or otherwise.

Your following on these platforms is owned by the platform, not you.

So, begin creating your ownership strategy now. Get people on your email list at all costs.

I also talked about this in episode 203 of my podcast:

Final Thoughts, Building a WordPress Site

No, you don’t still need a WordPress site, though I argue there’s value in building your central repository on the web. In most cases, this should be a WordPress site, but Bandzoogle is great too.

Solutions like 10XPro and ClickFunnels can be used as your all-in-one platforms. But all things being equal, I think 10XPro is the better all-in-one solution.

Leadpages is awesome, and it can even be used to build sales funnels. But its chief strength is in helping you build a list, not in building a website or funnel.

Is there anything I missed? Anything else I should have covered? Let me know in the comments below.

The Music Entrepreneur Code paperback

Shh… Don’t tell anyone. Only the cool kids are talking about it.

The Music Entrepreneur Code is my latest best-selling book, and it’s available here as well as on Amazon.